1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vehicle safety devices, and more specifically, relates to a system for detecting objects in a vehicle's “blind spot”.
2. Description of the Related Art
A common problem to the operators of motor vehicles is the difficulty in detecting other vehicles or objects in the “blind spots” of the vehicle's operator. A common blind spot is to the rear left of the operator's seat, and a right-side blind spot extends outward from the rear right quadrant of the vehicle. Both of these blind spots are the source of numerous accidents when the driver makes a left or right turn or a left or right lane change.
Vehicle manufacturers have sought to overcome these blind spots through the use of left and right side-view mirrors, however, several limitations have prevented mirrors from adequately resolving the problem. First, the mirrors do not necessarily reflect the true position of the object in the mirror. Mirror manufacturers have attempted to give the driver a wider angle of view at the price of having a smaller reflection, giving the operator a false sense of distance. Second, nighttime use and adverse weather conditions limit the effectiveness of externally mounted mirrors. Third, a vehicle may have several alternate drivers, each requiring different physical positions of the mirror. However, a driver may neglect to adjust the mirror after taking control of the vehicle thus forsaking any benefit the mirror may provide. Alternatives to mirrors for detecting the presence of vehicles or other objects in the driver's blind spot include both active and passive devices, such as radar detectors, cameras, ultrasonic transmitters and detectors, and infrared detectors. U.S. Pat. No. 4,694,295, issued to Miller et al. in 1998, discloses a vehicle blind spot detector comprising sequentially operating dual sensors, in which an infrared light emitting diode (LED) transmits infrared light that is reflected off an object in the vehicle's blind spot and is detected by an infrared detector. Once the target vehicle is detected, a second sensor is activated after a preset delay. The second sensor is ultrasonic and determines the distance between the operator's vehicle and the target vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,872,051, issued to Dye in 1989, discloses a passive collision avoidance alarm system disposed to provide a continuous raster scan of the scene within a wide angle of the direction of travel of the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,173,881, issued to Sindle in 1992, discloses a plurality of preferably ultrasonic distance-detector devices disposed around a vehicle's periphery and connected to a simulated vehicle display on the dashboard that provides a visual alert to the driver of the close approach of an external object to the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,325,096, issued to Paskett in 1994, discloses a radar system for sensing the presence of obstacles in a vehicle's blind spot and generating a signal to the vehicle's operator. The system uses a radar transceiver that transmits a radio frequency signal directed at a blind spot of the vehicle. The signal is reflected off any obstacles that are present in that blind spot and Doppler shift in the received reflected frequency indicates that an object has moved into the blind spot.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,463,384, issued to Juds in 1995, discloses a collision avoidance system that uses LEDs to transmit a plurality of infrared beams and uses a photosensitive device to detect the reflected energy.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,574,426, issued to Shisgal et al. in 1996, discloses an electronic obstacle detection system for guiding and warning a motorist of obstacles in the detection spot while backing up. The system includes a pair of sensor clusters affixed to the rear of the vehicle, a pair of exterior visual indicators, and an audio-visual indicator located in the vehicle. The system determines distance to an obstacle by measuring the time lapse between the transmission of a signal and the receipt of its return signal, angle and the distance between the clusters.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,734,336, issued to Smithline in 1998, discloses a collision avoidance system that uses a plurality of acoustic piezoelectric transducers to determine the location of objects near the vehicle, a microprocessor to process information from the transducers and several displays to display the information to the vehicle's operator.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,929,786, issued to Schofield et al. in 1999, discloses a blind spot detector system, which may utilize infrared, optical, or ultrasonic technology to detect objects in the vehicle's blind spot. The transmitter and receiver are mounted in the side view mirrors and a display is provided in the side view mirrors along with a display mounted in the vehicle's rear view mirror.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,982,278, issued to Cuvelier in 1999, discloses a set of transmitting-receiver sensors arranged on a vehicle and facing the driving surface which continuously observe changes in the reflective properties of the observed areas. The invention utilizes an electronic unit controlling an on-board signaling system linked to an alarm system which warns the driver of road hazards and possible unsafe driving.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,184,782, issued to Oda et al. in 2001, describes a system utilizing an infrared sensor for detecting vehicles approaching the operator's vehicle from the rear. The system comprises an infrared detector for detecting the heat generated from the approaching vehicle, and optical components for focusing the heat towards the detector.
Another infrared sensing device for detecting the presence of an overtaking vehicle is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 6,388,566 issued to Perio et al. in 2002. The '566 patent comprises at least two infrared sensors, the signals from these sensors being analyzed so as to distinguish overtaking vehicles from that of other vehicles traveling in the opposite direction, as well as avoiding alarms due to electronic and electromagnetic noise.
Similarly, German Patent No. DE3943431, published in 1991, discloses an LED and infrared sensor mounted in a side view mirror. Besides detecting the reflected energy from the LED, the sensor responds to the heat being generated by the approaching vehicle's engine.
In addition, French Patent No. FR2698449, published in 1994, discloses the use of two sets of infrared LED and receiver pairs, which are set at the rear side panel of a vehicle and emit parallel waves perpendicular to the vehicle's motion. An alarm is generated when the first receiver receives a return signal before the second receiver which lies in front of the first.
Another blind spot detecting device comprising a passive infrared sensor is disclosed in W.I.P.O Patent No. WO 95/25322 published in 1995. The infrared sensor generates a signal in response to a heat-emitting object moving in its field of view. A bandpass filter passes signals having a frequency within a predetermined band characteristic of moving vehicles. An indicator displays the presence of an object upon detection of a signal in the predetermined band.
A limitation common to all the above inventions is the lack of a means to determine and indicate to the user a lack of system integrity. A malfunction of a blind spot detection device resulting in the failure to detect an object in the vehicle's blind spot may have serious consequences to the vehicle and to its operator.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a blind spot detection system solving the aforementioned problems is desired.